Whole house humidifiers?

Jim Eastman

What have you been using for humidification in residential situations with hydronic heating? We have limited experience with the Aprilaire wall unit that uses a pass through panel. Any of you Wallies have success with this unit? What about steam or electric element type units for hydronic situations? What is the reliability and what are the service (cleaning & mineral buildup) requirements you have experienced? If you represent a manufacturer or wholesaler of this type of equipment, please feel free to respond! I am tired of the scorched air folks snickering gleefully when they talk about the inability of us Wetheads to keep the lady's skin from cracking in our dry Colorado climate! Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge!

Jim Eastman
Precision Plumbing
Boulder, CO

Mike T., Swampeast MO

When in CO...

I've been quite amazed at the ability of "swamp cooling" units (they usually only have a single outlet in an upstairs hall) to keep an entire home of decent size very comfortable in the middle of summer. Compared to Swampeast MO I was downright chilly...

Knowing Boulder would be a bit surprised if conventional A/C were even legal in most applications.

Am kind of surprised that someone hasn't figured out a way to use such as a humidifier in the winter--water connection & drain already in place, etc.

clammy

aprilaire whole house

i've used there units on alot of jobs including there whole house unit.typically you change the media on these units once a year and there a flow thur type they work well only one moving part and they rarely go just make sure you have a drain somewhere or use a condenste pump i've also have mounted them in closets and with a little tin and a relay and humidstat wired them to bring on the a/c fan and cycled the fan on humidity there self contained thur the wall unit works well and thre newer units use a outdoor sensor to help set humidity levles indoor good luck

BillW@honeywell

Steam Humidifier

If you have air conditioning duct work, consider the Honeywell HE440 steam humidifier. It mounts on the duct, and operates independently from the heating system. In a call for humidity, the HE440 comes on, starts the fan, and runs until the call is satisfied. You can also add a small hydronic or electric reheat in the duct work to temper the air in the winter to eliminate any cold drafts. The units comes complete with humidistat, water treatment & filter cartridge, and self cleans with an automatic flushing timer. Vist www.honeywell.com/yourhome for more info, and use the "Find a Contractor" feature above for a local pro to install it for you. This is a restricted product, available from Honeywell PCAD or EED distributors only.

Big Al and the pipewrenches

Rocky Mountain DRY

Have many installations using Aprilaire 350. Can connect
some duct for remote diffuser / unit applications. Might need to be insulated to precent condensation. Make sure water supply is connected to hot side of domestic water for
best operation.

GO ARMED FORCES "LET'S ROLL"
AB